Mario Is Missing!
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| Mario is Missing! | |
|---|---|
| File:Mario is Missing! NES cover.PNG | |
| Developer(s) | The Software Toolworks Radical Entertainment (NES) |
| Publisher(s) | Mindscape |
| Platform(s) | MS-DOS, Super NES, NES, Macintosh |
| Release | December 31, 1992 (DOS) June 1993 (SNES) July 1993 (NES) June 5, 1994 (Mac) |
| Genre(s) | Educational game |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
Mario is Missing! is a geography edutainment video game for the PC, Super NES, and NES. It was developed by The Software Toolworks and was released in 1992 for the PC. In 1993, two different versions were made for the SNES and NES, the latter being developed by Radical Entertainment. All three versions were published by the Mindscape Group.
The game is notable for being the first game to feature only Luigi as a playable character, which did not occur again until Luigi's Mansion. Since this game was not actually developed by Nintendo or Shigeru Miyamoto (they sublicensed the characters), it bears little resemblance to earlier Mario titles.
Plot
Bowser has set up a castle in Antarctica, and plans to use many hair dryers from the Hafta Havit mail-order company to melt the Antarctic ice and flood the Earth. He sends his Koopas to different cities across the Earth to steal artifacts in order to fund his operation. Mario, Luigi and Yoshi journey to Bowser's castle in an attempt to stop him. Luigi is hesitant to go in, so Mario goes by himself and is captured by Bowser. Luigi must now rescue Mario from Bowser and save the day.
Gameplay
Luigi progresses through the game by completing levels in Bowser's castle; each floor is guarded by one Koopaling and contains a number of pipes which transport Luigi to a city containing Koopas. Once a floor is completed, Luigi must defeat the Koopaling guarding that floor to proceed to the next.
The main gameplay consists of moving around a city in side-scrolling manner while jumping on Koopas to collect stolen artifacts (pieces of famous landmarks). Luigi then must take these artifacts to their respective locations and correctly answer three questions about the landmark. Once an artifact is returned, the landmark is reopened. During the quest to return all three artifacts to their proper landmarks, Luigi must determine his location in order to receive the assistance of Yoshi by using a device called the Globulator. If Luigi takes Yoshi to the correct location, he can ride him for double the walking and running speed. Once the exit pipe is found, Luigi is returned to the castle as long as he has Yoshi with him; otherwise he will be unable to return to the castle. He can then proceed to another town to do it all over again.
In each city, Luigi is able to question the locals to gain clues as to his current location, the general direction of remaining Koopas, and information about the affected landmarks. He is given a map detailing where the information booths, people and Koopas are in the city where Mario is.
Screenshot gallery
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PC/MS-DOS version.
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Super NES version
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NES version
